--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...at last I understood that writing was…" description: "\"...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had.\" — Brenda Ueland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png" --- # ...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse… ![“...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had.” quote by Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png) > “...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had.” [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is driven by an urge to convey feelings or truths to others. **In simple terms:** Sharing inner truths through writing. Key Takeaway Write to express, not just to impress. Themes expression connection truth Mood inspirational introspective Type creative motivational When to use this quote - journaling - teaching - blogging - storytelling Key Concepts creative impulse communication Questions to Reflect On - What truth do you feel compelled to share? - How does sharing affect your relationships? A Different Perspective Not all audiences appreciate honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-truth-415493/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-writing-415492/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-impulse-415491/) ## Related quotes > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [I've always loved writing, and the impulse for me is storytelling. I don't sit down and think: 'What political message can I sell?' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/i-ve-always-loved-writing-and-the-impulse-for-me-is-storytelling-i/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) > [The thing about writing is that if you have the impulse, you will find the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/the-thing-about-writing-is-that-if-you-have-the-impulse-you-will-find/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Reading usually precedes writing. And the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/reading-usually-precedes-writing-and-the-impulse-to-write-is-almost/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Accent is the soul of language; it gives to it both feeling and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/accent-is-the-soul-of-language-it-gives-to-it-both-feeling-and-truth/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“You can discard no one feeling and the full truth of an experience be revealed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/you-can-discard-no-one-feeling-and-the-full-truth-of-an-experience-be/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [I remember how being young and black and gay and lonely felt. 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Opinions become facts when they’re delivered by an emotional newscaster who has a political spin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-m-barton/look-at-how-the-news-is-presented-these-days-opinions-become-facts/) [Sara M. Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-m-barton/) > [I believe that everybody needs to tell their story - to be heard, to be seen, to be acknowledged, to be understood. We all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/i-believe-that-everybody-needs-to-tell-their-story-to-be-heard-to-be/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) ## More by Brenda Ueland > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-i-did-not-wear-torn-pants-orthopedic-shoes-frantic-disheveled-hair/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“\[4It is hard to be carefree when you have many anxieties. 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Feel that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/self-trust-is-so-important-when-you-launch-on-a-story-make-your-neck/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [We start out in our lives as little children, full of light and the clearest vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-start-out-in-our-lives-as-little-children-full-of-light-and-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly . prime it with a little solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-comes-to-us-slowly-and-quietly-prime-it-with-a-little/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/to-paint-with-oil-paints-for-the-first-time-is-like-trying-to-make/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [running is the right thing to do! I am free, healthy with a good complexion. It is that automobile addict who should be ashamed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/running-is-the-right-thing-to-do-i-am-free-healthy-with-a-good/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only good teachers for you are those friends who love you, who think you are interesting, or very important, or wonderfully funny; whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-only-good-teachers-for-you-are-those-friends-who-love-you-who/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... when I am really alone some power seems to grow in me. ... Conjugality made me think of a three-legged race, where two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-i-am-really-alone-some-power-seems-to-grow-in-me-conjugality/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“In the same way there is much, much in all of us, but we do not know it. No one ever calls it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/in-the-same-way-there-is-much-much-in-all-of-us-but-we-do-not-know-it/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-we-are-listened-to-it-creates-us-makes-us-unfold-and-expand/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. And what is the purpose of existence Here or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-best-way-to-know-the-truth-or-beauty-is-to-try-to-express-it-and/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Sometimes I think of life as a process where everybody is discouraging and taking everybody else down a peg or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/sometimes-i-think-of-life-as-a-process-where-everybody-is/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) [Explore all 121 Brenda Ueland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## More Feeling quotes > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myself/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Hate not knowing when things are going to happen feeling different every single day. It is called LIFE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-valdovinos/hate-not-knowing-when-things-are-going-to-happen-feeling-different/) [Stephanie Valdovinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-valdovinos/) > [The best feeling comes when you realise, that you are perfectly happy without the things, once you thought you needed the most…!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-feeling-comes-when-you-realise-that-you-are-perfectly-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love transforming myself constantly because it gives me that 'new' feeling that I'm very much addicted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-mondo/i-love-transforming-myself-constantly-because-it-gives-me-that-new/) [Brad Mondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-mondo/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I don't think Alfonso was a big expert on Potter either. He was feeling his way through it more than I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-don-t-think-alfonso-was-a-big-expert-on-potter-either-he-was/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) [Browse all 8,809 Feeling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenda Ueland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feeling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c31/brenda-ueland-3836_feeling_at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-th_2406949.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...at last I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that…” — Brenda Ueland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brenda Ueland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...at last I understood that writing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-last-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```